John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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417. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the amount returned to the Exchequer in the past five years from unclaimed social welfare payments as part of the social welfare payments contract with An Post. [9600/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Under contract An Post acts as the Department’s paying agent in respect of cash payments made to social welfare recipients.

In accordance with long established government accounting rules and procedures, payments routed through An Post are brought to account by the Department for expenditure purposes upon encashment (i.e. when the customer presents at a Post Office to collect their payment). Where customers fail to collect the amounts due for payment within a specified period the payment instructions go out of date and are regarded as lapsed issues bearing no charge on the Exchequer.

An Post is put in credit by way of weekly advances to ensure it has sufficient funds to meet customer payments as they arise. The amount of uncashed issues remains part of the unspent advances held by An Post on behalf of the Department for funding purposes.